Collin Gillespie
Gillespie is Phoenix's sixth man and primary bench ball-handler, with some chance of a bigger late-game role. The first two games of the season show his minutes running anywhere from the low 20s to the high 20s.
Role
He came off the bench in the opener against Portland (Arizona Sports), playing 21 minutes. In the next game, a win over Golden State, he played 28 minutes, more than Jalen Green's 26 (Arizona Sports, about a day old). RotoWire's player page projects a 25-minute role as the main bench ball-handler. Fox Sports calls his second-unit role secure. In the preseason he opened the second half with Luke Kennard and Jordan Goodwin (CBS/RotoWire). Green, Goodwin and Devin Booker compete for the same backcourt work. I did not read a current depth chart or starting-five page. About the Wednesday rest note: Fox Sports describes a preseason Wednesday loss to the Spurs that he sat out for maintenance. The wire report you gave me may be that same item. I could not confirm that it refers to a regular-season game, and I found no sign of a back-to-back rest pattern.
He set career highs last season at 12.7 points, 4.6 assists, 2.9 threes and 1.2 steals in 28.5 minutes over 80 games (Fox Sports, RotoWire). Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic reported he is expected to compete for crunch-time minutes after being Phoenix's most effective fourth-quarter player statistically in 2025-26. He signed a four-year, $48 million deal in June 2026, per RotoWire. Against Golden State he had 11 points, 9 assists and 4 rebounds, led the team at +16, and played more than Green. Booker or Green injuries have lifted his minutes and starts before.
He lost the starting job. Arizona Sports calls him the sixth man, and the opener gave him only 21 minutes, in which he scored zero points on 0-for-8 shooting with four steals. RotoWire says 30 minutes a game is unlikely with Green healthy, and it expects about 25. He also slumped at the end of last season. Booker and Green dominate the ball, so his usage depends on the bench units.
Where analysts split
The disagreement is over his minutes ceiling. RotoWire expects a stable bench role of about 25 minutes. The Arizona Sports note and The Arizona Republic's crunch-time report point to more, if he keeps outplaying Green. A Green minutes drop is only something to watch so far, since it comes from one game's 28-to-26 split.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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